Nigerian Society of Engineers Lagos Branch Donates Toilets, Solar Power, Others To Schools

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Lagos Branch, on Tuesday made donations to three schools in Lagos  State as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The branch donated  educational items and facilities to improve learning and inspire schoolchildren.

The items include exercise books, drums and solar systems.

The branch paid for West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) fee for 16 students.

It also built toilets and partitioned classrooms for one of the schools.

During Tuesday’s visit to Akoka Nursery and Primary School, Yaba, the Chairman of NSE Lagos Branch, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, said that the society was committed to supporting education and child development through regular outreaches.

Kesha was represented by the Vice Chairman of the branch, Mr Bakare Opeyemi.

“We are here today as representatives of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Lagos Branch, to give back to the community.

“We earlier visited this school, asked what it needed, and the authorities said they wanted a band set for pupils.

“We have now provided them with a full drum set as well as exercise books and biros, ” she said.

According to her, the society aims to make learning more lively and engaging for the schoolchildren, and wants them to remember that engineers contributed to their joy and growth.

“This is something we do monthly, yearly.  It is part of our commitment,” Kesha said.

The Head Teacher of the school, Mrs Vivian Okeke, expressed joy at the gesture.

She said: “The drum set will motivate the children to come to school early, pray and start their day with  full of energy.

“One of our pupils, the main drummer, always comes early and encourages others. Now they have drums to beat.  I am deeply grateful to NSE.”

She also appealed for more support, especially in terms of writing materials.

“Many children come to school without books or even a proper bags.

“Some siblings share a single bag and have to fetch books from each other during lessons,” she said.

A Primary Six pupil, Master Victor Usen, said the drums and books would make him and his classmates to look forward to coming to school early everyday.

“I am happy. I want to come early everyday and attend the assembly,” he said.

At Bright Achievers Academy in Bariga,  NSE, Lagos Branch, donated exercise books, partitioned classrooms with concrete blocks, built six toilets, and paid WASSCE fee for 16 students.

The Founder of the school and Creative Director of Footprints of David Art Foundation, Mr Seun Awobajo, said the NSE Lagos Branch had been consistent in its support for the school.

“The first toilets in our school and community were built by NSE, Lagos.

“It also helped us avoid being shut down by education authorities, by building partitions for classrooms.

“This school is a grassroots effort. We deliberately don’t seek grants or external funding – we want to test true community involvement.

“If not for NSE Lagos Branch, we would have shut down long ago. I am grateful to them,” he said.

Awobajo said that the biggest challenge facing the school was payment of teachers’  salaries.

He said: “We can build the best facilities, but without teachers, it is a waste.

“Minimum wage is rising, and retaining teachers in this environment is hard. Volunteers can’t replace trained educators.”

In her remarks at Bright Achievers, Kesha said the branch would not only look at the academic needs but also personal and home-related needs of the pupils.

“We have spoken with our spouses, and we would be mobilising support through them as well,” she said.

A JSS 3 student at the school, Miss Peace Akpan, expressed gratitude for the support.

At Eva Adelaja Girls Senior High School at Bariga, NSE, Lagos Branch, installed a solar system to provide regular power for the school.

The principal, Mrs Soyoye Ibunoluwa, said she was very glad.

“It is rare to find a solar system of this quality in public schools.

“I am happy this happened during my tenure,” she said.

She appealed for a school bus to help in transporting students for competitions.

“Our girls do very well at both national and international levels, but we always have to hire buses to take them around. A school bus will help us go farther,” she said.

A student of the school,  Miss Omowonuola Adekoya, said the solar system would greatly improve teaching and learning in the school.

NAN also reports that Kesha is an old student of the Eva Adelaja Girls Senior High School.

She re-affirmed the commitment of NSE,  Lagos Branch, to community outreaches to ensure better learning environments for children.

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